Alain and Gerard Wertheimer have completed the purchase of the two remaining parts of the Wildenstein family’s racing and breeding concerns, bringing together two of France’s most celebrated entities.
The racehorses that have hitherto borne the two-tone blue of Ballymore Thoroughbreds are set to carry the Wertheimers’ ‘Goldikova’ silks, beginning in high-profile fashion Aug. 20 when Pensee du Jour will race for the brothers in the Prix Alec Head (G2) and be ridden for the first time by retained jockey Maxime Guyon.
Of arguably even greater value is the broodmare band formerly under the banner of Dayton Investments, which includes descendants of two of the most influential bloodlines in European racing, the A and P families developed by successive generations of Wildenstein breeding dating back 100 years.
Pierre-Yves Bureau, racing and breeding manager to the Wertheimer brothers, told French racing daily Jour de Galop: “We can confirm that we have recently acquired the whole of the stock belonging to Dayton Investments.
“It’s a rare opportunity to integrate into our broodmare band numerous elements of exceptional quality, like the dams of classic winners Persian King and Paddington, as well as the horses in training such as Pensee du Jour.
“The yearlings and foals have also joined the Wertheimer et Frere team.”
Both dynasties have tasted success in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1) on multiple occasions, with Allez France the first Wildenstein winner of Europe’s greatest all-aged prize in 1974, a victory which was followed by All Along, Sagace, and Peintre Celebre.
Jacques Wertheimer owned the 1976 and 1981 winners, Ivanjica and Gold River, while his sons had inherited the stable by the time that Solemia triumphed in 2012.
Bureau said: “We hope to continue and develop the success of the great Dayton Investments families which, since 1923, have been among the most important in the European stud book, and which have produced four winners of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
“The principal bloodlines which will now join our stud are descended from iconic mares like Albertine (the dam of Arcangues and granddam of Aquarelliste), of Madelia (the fourth dam of Paddington) and of Petroleuse (the granddam of Peintre Celebre and fourth dam of Persian King).”
The Wildenstein racing concerns were divided in two in the early 2010s, with 108 horses going under the hammer during a record-breaking dispersal sale at Goffs in 2016.
The Wertheimer story in racing began with Alain and Gerard’s grandfather Pierre and, in addition to their three Arc winners, the family has raced such champions as Riverman, Lyphard, Goldikova , and Intello , meaning they already have a rich breeding legacy of their own, to which this new acquisition adds considerably.
